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What’s a bird??

Patty

An albatross

Cruz

Say less

Patty

I’m gonna say more. Did you know they have the longest wingspan of any bird?

Cruz

Damn that bird must have a huge dick too

Thirty minutes and one lengthy debate about birds later, we've cleaned up all the glass. So, I go back to the bathroom door, my fist hanging in the air for a moment.

With a tentative touch, I tap the wood. “Nina? You still in there?”

I’m shocked when the door swings open. Strands of hair are plastered to her flushed cheeks, black makeup’s smeared under her eyes, and she’s got a sheen of sweat on her forehead, but I don’t care what she looks when she’s got that frown on her face.

All I care about is her.

“Are you alright?” I grimace as soon as the words leave my mouth. Is that really the best I could come up with? She’s clearly not, but I don’t know what else to say.

She won’t look me in the eye. “It feels like I ran a marathon underwater, but yeah, I’m fine.” She heads straight for the sink, turning the faucet on full blast.

“Can I come in?” I ask.

“Sure,” she mutters.

I pull the bathroom door shut to give us some privacy. I don’t know what to do, so I end up staring at her as she washes her hands. I want to pull her into my arms so bad, but I have a feeling she’d push me away. When she’s done, she holds onto the black sink like a lifeline. Her stormy eyes meet mine in the mirror.

“Okay, let me just get this out... I’m so sorry, Rhode. For the champagne, for screaming at you. I knew this was important, and I embarrassed you and fucked everything up,” she says in a voice that sounds like it’s breaking, but not broken.

There’s only one person in my life that I can’t forgive, and it’s sure as hell not Nina. I cross my arms, leaning against the bathroom wall, even though I’m tempted to hug her.

The fact that this girl thinks she could ever embarrass me is downright laughable. “You’ll have to try harder than that to embarrass me. I set a yacht on fire in my twenties, spent the night in jail, and had it splashed all over the internet, so you’ve got to top that.”

She snaps her head up, and the corners of our lips lift like they’re connected by strings.

“I didn’t ruin the sponsorship for you?”

“No. You didn’t ruin the sponsorship for me. In fact, Andrea wants to meet up to discuss it. Things like this happen, and it was an accident. None of the waitstaff got hurt, and everyone’s fine. There’s nothing you could do to embarrass me, Nina. Anyone would be proud to belong to someone like you,” I cut myself off.

The thought of her with another man has my muscles tightening, but I force my stance to loosen. It doesn’t matter that I want her more than any other woman.

She isn’t looking to get married, and I’m not going to force her into a life she doesn’t want. I’m not letting her change for me when she’s perfect as herself.

The ridge between her shoulder blades eases, but she doesn’t break eye contact in the mirror. “I’m still sorry for yelling. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you, but sometimes when I get overwhelmed, I snap at the nearest person.”

I’m starting to realize one of the best things about Nina is the way she speaks her mind. I’m used to people making excuses that she’s like a Zambonied rink—refreshing.

“Remember what I said in the car that first night? You can snap if you need to, just don’t break on me.” I think she tries to grin, but it doesn’t form. I need to see her smile. “Hey, I’m serious. I’ve been there. I’ve had one panic attack, and I made Cruz drive me to the hospital for it because I thought I was dying.”

Her pretty hazels go wide. “What? Really?”